Germany on Wednesday issued a harsh condemnation of Israel’s approval of thousands of new settlement homes in the West Bank, saying Jerusalem’s actions cast doubt on Israel’s commitment to a two-state solution.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said Tuesday’s announcement of new construction went “beyond what we have seen… in the last few months both in terms of its scale and its political significance,” Reuters reported.

He said Berlin now doubted whether Israeli leadership remained committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state. Without such a commitment, he warned, there would be little basis for Mideast peace.